


Morning Routine

by True_Runic



Series: Ouroboros [1]
Category: Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternative universe - Male & Female Hawke twins, Multi, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:35:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24330691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/True_Runic/pseuds/True_Runic
Summary: Bethany may have to get up at the crack of dawn for her job. But the morning routine of one of the regulars makes it worth it.
Relationships: Bethany Hawke/Sebastian Vael, Female Hawke/Isabela
Series: Ouroboros [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1786573
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	Morning Routine

Any moment now she’d see him come in. His bright blue eyes like the sky on the best sunny day. His smile that would stop her heart. Even before she knew who he was, his smile made her knees go weak. Even if the only way he knew her name was because of the name tag pinned to her apron. 

The summer sun was well into the sky and the air smelled like it was going to be a warm day, even as the heat hadn’t set in yet. Like clock work he would be there before the morning rush around 7:30. Glancing at the clock, Bethany felt her heartbeat quicken in anticipation.She always felt a little giddy any day she could see him. 

This job was only supposed to be a part time thing while she was getting her degree, but Bethany Hawke was finding that she really enjoyed working at the upscale coffee shop which wasn’t far from the University she attended. Ouroboros was owned by a Tevinter ex-pat named Dorian who was more hipster than he would ever admit to - if the hipster in question had more money than the Maker, loved fashion, and pretended he didn’t understand problems that you couldn’t just throw money or magic at to correct. It was all bluster though. Bethany found quickly that deep down Dorian was a good guy. It was just (as he put it) he had a reputation to uphold. 

Her sister’s off again/on again girlfriend, Isabela, got Bethany the job. In the evenings the cafe converted into a high class bar and Isabela was the main bartender. She originally had tried to get Bethany to waitress the night shift with her, but Bethany needed something that was a little more low-key so that she could focus on school. 

Still, working in the cafe was not something that Bethany thought she would enjoy as much as she did. It was only a part time thing, but she really loved learning about the different ways to make coffee from Dorian: cold brew; drip; press; steaming the milk just right. But what she loved most was that Dorian let her bake. When she first started working there, the pitiful amount of pastries were all commercially bought and slowly Bethany started replacing them with her own creations. It was all with Dorian’s approval, of course. He had become confident enough with her cooking that he had even added a small kitchen to the back of the cafe with all the equipment she needed to bake up a storm. Now all that was needed was more help around the place to free her up to bake more. 

Bethany busied herself around the cafe with the nervous energy that coursed through her this time of the morning. The pastry case was full, everything was straight, with the optimal placement that she’d read about in her business and marketing books. She turned to the pastries she had kept out of the case and packed them up for his inevitable arrival. He always got a half dozen of whatever was on display, but she knew that he loved the shortbread most of all and always put a couple of those into his morning order. 

As much as Bethany wanted Dorian to hire help, she enjoyed being the only person there in the morning. The last thing she needed was for anyone to see how her cheeks flushed as soon as  _ he _ walked through the door. She would never hear the end of it from Dorian or Isabela… and Maker help her if they told her siblings. Baby Bethany had a crush. Never mind that she’d had lots of boyfriends over the years. Marian would give her hell with the teasing, Carver would automatically hate whoever it was, and Garrett would, well… he could be a mixed bag. either siding with one of the other two or possibly just go full on like dad mode with jokes and just be a little embarrassing. He might tease her mercilessly with a million dad jokes, or he might just be the supportive big brother he’d been for her before.

Hearing the bell over the door jingle, Bethany looked up with a big smile that stuck on her face and turned a little static when she saw Dorian walk in. She glanced between the clock and the drooping dark haired man, her expression edging towards concern. Dorian was rarely up before noon and so to see him not long after sunrise was novel at best “Good morning, Dorian. Is everything all right?” 

He staggered toward the bar and leaned heavily on it. “Bethy, darling. No questions. Just coffee. Please...” Bethany couldn’t help but smile and shake her head as she immediately ground down some beans, then added the grounds to the portafilter and started up the shots. She looked him over as he over dramatically made his way toward the pastry case and started picking out the best looking pieces for himself. He was perfectly manicured, his hair smoothly sculpted as was his facial hair, his clothing crisp and clean and perfectly pressed. All of which told Bethany that he’d actually been up for a while now, which was much, MUCH earlier than he normally got up. 

“All right, your coffee is almost done. If I give it to you, will you please stop accosting the pastry case? Customers see that and I work really hard to make it look nice!” Bethany sighed as she poured his shots of espresso into the cup with Dorian’s preferred amount of milk and sugar. 

“I have interviews to get you the help you’ve been asking for. And in my glorious wisdom, I thought I would have them come during the rush to see how they handle it,” Dorian explained, moving away from the pastries and taking the cup from her hands before she had even gotten the lid onto it. He moved to lean against the back counter, alternating sipping the coffee and eating one of the new cinnamon muffins Bethany was trying out. “So be prepared for me to throw people at you who have no idea what they are doing. These are wonderful by the way, you have my approval to keep them on the rotation. But you will need to do that while keeping everyone happy and full of the legally addictive stimulants. Now, until then my sugary friends and I will be in my office.” He paused and looked at the clock and the door, a smile slowly spreading on his tired face as the bell over the door rang. “Sebastian! Always good to see you, my old friend!” 

Bethany froze in place before she slowly forced herself to turn and see the man she thought about every morning. Sebastian Vael. Prince of Starkhaven. Well, presumptive Prince of Starkhaven. The death of his family had been headline news for months, and the following murder trial for the people involved had held the entire world enraptured. Kirkwall had been chosen as the location for the trial due to its neutrality and the fact that the murders had been caught and did all their planning in the city. It was a double edged sword of publicity for Kirkwall. The attention was welcome, but the Viscount seemed to be constantly running damage control to ease the tensions between the two city states. The murder trial had ended and the suspects found guilty, but now a trial for succession had started and Sebastian was fighting with some distant cousin over the fate of his home. 

Sebastian waved back at Dorian with a warm, albeit tired smile, looking just as surprised as Bethany had to see the man there so early. As he walked up to the counter, Sebastian’s smile turned into something more real and as brilliant as the sun. “Good morning.” He nodded and Bethany felt her knees go weak under that smile and those clear blue eyes. “Cinnamon latte, please, and the usual half dozen of the pastries.” 

Bethany knew what he was going to order - it was always the same - but she didn’t want to seem overly eager. As it was, it took her brain an embarrassingly long moment to realize that he actually spoke to her. “Oh, ah, yes, coming right up,” she said hurriedly and busied herself at the machine, putting together the order while Sebastian and Dorian talked. The downside was over the sound of the coffee machine, she couldn’t quite hear what they were saying, but it didn’t mean that she didn’t try. 

“I’m all right.” 

“Yes, I’m eating when I can.” 

“Dorian you sound like Leto. I don’t need a nursemaid.” 

Sebastian glanced over toward Bethany and she quickly looked away to finish frothing the milk for his latte, hoping that the steam from the machine would hide the blush on her face until she could calm back down. 

“Everything’s ready,” she said, sliding the coffee and the bag of pastries to the edge of the counter. Sebastian started pulling out his wallet but Dorian raised his hand to stop him. 

“Your money isn’t any good here.” He smirked and waved his hand. “If I can’t give my friends freebies on occasion, what kind of successful businessman would I be?” 

“The kind that is out of business,” Bethany snorted with a smile as she quickly wiped down the machine. Her eyes widened in shock and the smile slowly fell as she realized that she’d said her thoughts out loud. She threw Dorian an apologetic wince,moving over to the register and putting the espresso machine between him and her. Perhaps with the expensive machinery in the way he wouldn’t be as tempted to exact revenge, however jokingly. 

Dorian’s gasp of indignation was drowned out by the pure, clear laughter coming from Sebastian as he clapped the other man on the shoulder. “She has you there, Dorian.” He continued to chuckle and Dorian slowly began to laugh as well, giving Bethany a mock pout. Sebastian finished pulling out his money to pay, putting several dollars into the tip jar and turning his megawatt smile toward Bethany. 

“Thank you,” he said. “I needed that laugh.” Sebastian gathered the drink and bag, giving her another smile before turning back to Dorian.“I will talk to you later, Dorian.” With a final nod to Dorian, he headed back out the door. 

Bethany let out a slow breath as he was gone and watched Sebastian through the window until he was gone. 

“Now, Bethany, darling. Would you mind telling me how long you’ve been in love with my handsome Starkhaven friend?” Dorian grinned and leaned back against the counter, nibbling on a piece of coffee cake.

The blush rushed back into Bethany’s cheeks and she shook her head, focusing more on cleaning up the counter and the pastry case that Dorian had upset the balance of just before. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, wincing at the crack in her voice as she delicately rearranged the pastries to their optimal places. “He’s just a very handsome man and a celebrity. I-I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t be flustered by that.” 

“Mhmmm,” Dorian hummed with a full mouth. He finished the piece of cake and slowly stood, picking up the plate of pastries he made earlier. “You know, if I start charging more people for their coffee that means your siblings as well.” 

“Good! You should be!” Bethany laughed and threw a damp rag toward s him as he disappeared into his office. “Marian would drink this place dry if she could!” 

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!! This is based off an AU that my spouse and I have been working on off and on for a couple of years. Might be more later, stay tuned.


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